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MIDDLEBURY, Vt.-The six young string players of Concertante are hailed wherever they play as powerful, exciting and satisfying examples of a new generation of classical musicians. They will share their spirit and energy in an 8 p.m. performance Saturday, Oct. 2, in Middlebury College's Concert Hall at the Center for the Arts (CFA).

The program for the evening will include Johannes Brahms' B-flat Sextet, Arnold Schoenberg's "Transfigured Night," and Richard Strauss' String Sextet from "Capriccio."

Concertante has won acclaim for its performances and recordings of these very selections. "This is as good a recording of the sextet version of the Schoenberg as I know," wrote a reviewer for American Record Guide in late 2001. BBC Music Magazine called Concertante's performance of the Strauss piece "white-hot, so intensely felt and so superbly realized technically as to be almost beyond praise; they create their own benchmark."

Since their arrival on the music scene in 1995, Concertante has been praised as a breath of fresh air. "The fantastically talented Concertante proved Monday night that the future of classical music is in good hands," declared The Oregonian (Portland, Ore.) last year.

Concertante was founded by a group of Juilliard School graduates who perform a wide range of string repertoire. Known for a rigorous rehearsal schedule, the ensemble has a keen interest in new music and frequently commissions new pieces to debut at its concerts. Concertante has premiered new works by Steven R. Gerber, David Ludwig and Oded Zehavi. They also select lesser-known chamber works to perform for today's audiences, including pieces by composers such as Georges Enesco, John Adams, Schoenberg and Ervin Schulhoff.

Concertante has performed across the country and recently toured China for the first time. The group's CDs include recordings of Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Schoenberg, Dvorak and Brahms. Concertante is also the resident chamber music ensemble of the Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts in Harrisburg, Pa.

The concert is sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. The Middlebury College Center for the Arts is on South Main Street (Route 30). Reserved seating tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for seniors. A pre-performance dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Rehearsals Cafe located in the CFA and reservations are required. Tickets, dinner reservations and information are available from the Middlebury College Box Office at 802-443-6433 or www.middlebury.edu/arts.